We try to choose themes that will leave a lot of room for students’ imagination and interpretation, without us dictating the response.

Examine these pieces of art and see what poetic ideas they inspire. What does the artwork make you think of? What story might it tell? Then take it from there and be creative.

We hope that students will come up with many imaginative ideas to fit the theme. Our judges love it when a student comes up with something they had not thought of before.

Who

Contest prizes and themes are determined based on the student’s age. If a student falls into Category 1 in age, then he or she must do the Category 1 theme and will be awarded Category 1 prizes. The same applies for categories 2 and 3.

Category 1: Homeschoolers ages 7 to 11 as of May 1, 2008.Category 2: Homeschoolers ages 12 to 15 as of May 1, 2008.Category 3: Homeschoolers ages 16 to 19 as of May 1, 2008.

For the purposes of this contest, an eligible student must have been home educated in the past year and received a majority of his or her education in the past year through home education.

Format and Submissions

Poems must be completely the work of the student entering the contest. No involvement or assistance of other parties, including but not limited to brainstorming, editing, or proof reading, is permissible.

The poems should be typed, in at least 12 point font, and single spaced with a double space between stanzas.

Each poem must have a title.

Each author may enter up to five poems. Each poem requires a separate entry fee.

Only one poem per page.

The student’s phone number should appear at the top of each page. No other from of identification should appear on these pages.

The student must fill out an entry form with their full name, date of birth, HSLDA membership number (if applicable), address, email, and telephone number; this should be on a separate cover sheet of paper attached by a paperclip to the poem. This sheet should also include the title or a one-sentence description of the poem and a line count for the poem.

Poems must be mailed to:

HSLDA
Attn: Poetry Contest
P.O. Box 3000
Purcellville, VA 20134-9000

Entries must be postmarked on or before June 1, 2008. Only entries sent to the above address will qualify for the contest.

Fee

$10.00—HSLDA Member Discounted Entry Fee

$15.00—Regular Entry Fee

The check should be made payable to “HSLDA” with a note of “Poetry Contest” in the memo line. Please do not enclose cash.

Prizes for Each Category

Category

1

2

3

First

$100

$150

$200

Second

$75

$100

$150

Third

$50

$50

$100

Honorable Mentions (2)

$25

$25

$50

Forms

Blank Verse: Entries in Category 1, 2, and 3 are to be a poem of 15-20, 20-25, and 25-30 lines of blank verse respectively. Blank verse is one of the most versatile poetic forms of the English language. It is simply unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter, and has been used by poets from Shakespeare to Frost. Pentameter means the line has five groupings of rhythmic syllables called feet. In this case the feet are iambic, which means that they are composed of a short syllable and then a long (or emphasized) syllable. So the line is composed of ten syllables and follows this pattern: short long / short long / short long / short long / short long. An example of a line of iambic pentameter is “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.” from Tennyson’s Ulysses.